Der Präsident. - Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die kurze Darstellung des Berichts von Mary Honeyball über sexuelle Ausbeutung und Prostitution und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Gleichstellung der Geschlechter (2013/2103(INI)) (A7-0071/2014).
Mary Honeyball, rapporteur. - Mr President, I would like to thank my colleagues, as well as all the shadows and the various NGOs and groups I have worked with: the European Women’s Lobby, Equality Now, various networks of women who have survived working in prostitution, and the European Commission anti-trafficking coordinator.
My report takes as its basis two directives: the directives on victims of violence, which came out in 2012, and trafficking, which dates from 2011, because it is very clear that trafficking fuels prostitution and prostitution fuels trafficking. That is one of the main reasons why prostitution is a cross-border issue and why it is something that we should be deeply concerned about in this Parliament.
There are also, of course, health implications which matter as well. So I am very pleased to have this opportunity to introduce this report. It has been a controversial and difficult subject, because the laws regarding prostitution – as opposed to the overall strategy and what we are doing with cross-border issues – belong to Member States. They are, quite rightly, the competence of Member States, and they vary enormously.
In certain countries like the UK, prostitution itself is not illegal, but everything concerning it is: soliciting, procuring, running a brothel and associated activities are all criminal offences. In some countries, prostitution is completely legal – that is the case in Germany and the Netherlands – so we are dealing with a very varying perspective. I would not say that this has made this report difficult, but it has had to take account of all the different traditions across the European Union.
One thing has been clear: that very few women indeed work in prostitution totally as a matter of free choice. During the course of my work for this, I have met many survivors and talked to many people who work in prostitution in various forms, and I did not meet any women who had chosen it as a matter of completely free choice.
As I said before, many have been the victims of trafficking. In fact, official EU research shows that 62[nbsp ]% of those who are trafficked in the EU are women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Very often they are very young women, and very often they are girls. That in itself is appalling enough. In addition to victims of trafficking, there are those who have drug and substance abuse habits. There are many – an unquantifiable number, because statistics are very difficult to find in this area – who work in prostitution who have had very difficult and disturbed backgrounds, and who suffered sexual abuse when they were young; and many, particularly in times of economic crisis, are turning to prostitution through poverty.
I contend that none of those are free choices and that prostitution is not a job like any other. In fact, prostitution is absolutely against gender equality, which is why, in my report, I am suggesting that we take very seriously the model which is used in Sweden – the Nordic model, as we know it – whereby the buyer of sexual services is the one who is criminalised. This has been shown to have reduced levels of prostitution in Sweden since 1999 (when it was introduced) by half: a very significant decrease in prostitution. I believe the way to tackle and reduce prostitution is to reduce demand, and the only model that is shown to do this is the model which is currently operating in Sweden. So I therefore call on all of you to support this very important report.
Catch-the-eye-Verfahren
Anna Záborská (PPE). - Dovoľte mi vyjadriť podporu kolegyni Honeyball a textu správy, ktorá bola prijatá vo výbore. Pojem prostitúcia v sebe jasne obsahuje obchod s[nbsp ]ľudskými bytosťami. Jeden človek si kúpi iného človeka pre uspokojenie svojich chúťok a pre svoje potešenie. Či sa jedná o legálnu alebo nútenú prostitúciu, princíp je ten istý. Považovanie ľudskej bytosti za tovar by malo byť zakázané. V tom sa, dúfam, zhodneme. Som si vedomá toho, že môj postoj nevyvolá súhlas najmä medzi kolegami, ktorých členské štáty legalizovali prostitúciu. Dokonca aj Európsky súdny dvor vyhlásil, že prostitúcia je profesia ako každá iná. Návrh alternatívneho uznesenia nepodporujem. Dúfam, že sa nám podarí prijať správu Honeyball, a ako tieňová spravodajkyňa urobím všetko pre to, aby sa našiel text, ktorý moja skupina podporí.
Edite Estrela (S&D). - Senhor Presidente, a prostituição abrange cerca de 40 a 42 milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo, na esmagadora maioria mulheres. Esta situação é causa e consequência das desigualdades de género. Está provado que os problemas económicos, a pobreza e a exclusão social são as principais causas da prostituição e que o lenocínio está intimamente ligado à criminalidade organizada. O mercado da prostituição aumenta o tráfico de mulheres e crianças. Existe uma grande disparidade na forma como os Estados-Membros lidam com esta questão. Uns consideram que a prostituição é uma violação dos direitos das mulheres, uma forma de escravidão sexual que perpetua as desigualdades de género. Outros afirmam que as mulheres têm o direito a fazerem o que quiserem com o seu corpo. O modelo nórdico parece ser o que melhor salvaguarda a dignidade das mulheres, mas é preciso promover a formação adequada da polícia e do pessoal do sistema judicial. A prostituição não pode ser uma profissão.
Ulrike Lunacek (Verts/ALE). - Mr President, in my view and the view of the majority in my group, Ms Honeyball presents a very one-sided position in her report and does not take into account the different approaches that we have within the European Union. It calls for prostitution to be criminalised; and as a feminist, I also have a problem with the fact that in our patriarchal society, too many men all too often look at women as objects for sex, work or other things and not as dignified human beings in their own right.
But criminalisation as in the Nordic model does not solve the problems. We need to differentiate between trafficking for sexual exploitation – in prostitution or in households, or wherever – and sex work resulting from active individual decisions. I know some women decide to go into sex work because of the economic hardship they encounter, but this is their decision and their choice. So together with members of other political groups, we propose an alternative motion for a resolution which focuses on the responsibility of Member States and especially also on providing exit strategies for those who want to leave prostitution.
Inês Cristina Zuber (GUE/NGL). - Senhor Presidente, 96 % das pessoas que se prostituem no mundo são mulheres. A prostituição contribui claramente para a perpetuação da desigualdade entre homens e mulheres e é inquestionavelmente uma forma de violência brutal. É não uma velha profissão, mas sim uma velha forma de violência contra as mulheres, reflexo das desigualdades sociais e económicas que o capitalismo reproduziu. Um capitalismo que considera que tudo é vendável e comercializável, incluindo a intimidade, tratando as mulheres como mercadoria e utilizando-as para a obtenção dos lucros dos proxenetas que, nos países onde a prostituição é legalizada, passam a ser respeitáveis homens de negócios da noite.
Numa sociedade progressista, o trabalho é fonte de realização individual enquanto contributo produtivo para a sociedade. Quem considera que uma mulher que vende a sua intimidade e a sua dignidade para a satisfação sexual do homem comprador se sente realizada tem que estar equivocado. A perspetiva abolicionista, em grande parte defendida neste relatório, considera a mulher uma vítima a quem o Estado deve proteger, acompanhar e integrar, e criminaliza quem lucra à sua conta e quem alimenta esse processo de exploração, os clientes.
Zbigniew Ziobro (EFD). - Panie Przewodniczący! Do skutecznej walki z przestępczością związaną z handlem kobietami, także z prostytucją, stręczycielstwem, kuplerstwem, z tym wszystkim, co jest związane z tą działalnością, wymagane jest odpowiednio dobre prawo, ale też w tym sensie surowe prawo, takie które będzie skutecznie odstraszać sprawców przestępstw. Zwykle to są członkowie zorganizowanych grup przestępczych od tego rodzaju procederu. Ale pamiętajmy też, że gdzieniegdzie prawo jest już stosunkowo ostre, ale ono nie jest egzekwowalne. Jest bardzo ważne, aby władza polityczna miała zrozumienie dla potrzeby skutecznego wykorzystywania tych przepisów, które zostały już w poszczególnych krajach uchwalone. Tak bowiem się składa, np. w Polsce, że występuje powszechny proceder działania tzw. tirówek, to się tak określa, czyli pań, które świadczą usługi seksualne przy drogach. Zwykle to są panie z krajów południowych i są one w okropnych warunkach wykorzystywane przez sutenerów. To jest przestępstwo. Z tym trzeba walczyć, trzeba wykorzystywać przepisy, które są. Tu musi być presja na władzę polityczną, aby z tych przepisów korzystała.
Krisztina Morvai (NI). - Miközben az Európai Unió tonnaszám ontja a dokumentumokat a nők elleni erőszakkal és a nőkereskedelemmel kapcsolatban, számos tagállam rendőrsége felháborító közömbösséget tanúsít. A magyar országos rendőrfőkapitány megtagadta azt, hogy a témában a magyar rendőrök képzést kaphassanak. Biztos asszonyt pedig egy másik témában kérdezném, történetesen az osztrák rendőrség felháborító hozzáállásával összefüggésben. Amikor magyar nők munkavállalás céljából Ausztriába mennek, majd ott rejtélyes körülmények között eltűnnek, hónapokkal később sem hajlandó az osztrák rendőrség bűncselekmény gyanúja miatt nyomozást indítani, noha egyértelmű, hogy fenn kellene hogy álljon nemcsak a gyanúja, hanem vélelme a nők elleni erőszakos bűncselekménynek, illetőleg a nőkereskedelemnek. Tud-e Ön erről a gyakorlatról, mi a véleménye róla és mit óhajt tenni ellene?
Piotr Borys (PPE). - Panie Przewodniczący! Proceder prostytucji i sutenerstwa ma w większości charakter transgraniczny. Dlatego dobre prawo i możliwość unifikacji pewnych przepisów może pozwolić na to, aby ten proceder zmniejszyć. Dodatkowo potrzebna jest ze strony państw członkowskich usystematyzowana pomoc dla osób, które chcą wyjść z prostytucji, bo pamiętajmy, że często prostytucja ma charakter pewnej konieczności związanej właśnie z kwestiami ekonomicznymi. Dlatego uważam, że to sprawozdanie warto poprzeć i warto zastosować metodę pewnej współpracy państw członkowskich, głównie właśnie w wymiarze walki z grupami przestępczymi, które mają charakter transgraniczny.
Anna Hedh (S&D). - Herr talman! 2011 hade jag nöjet att ansvara för EU:s människohandelslagstiftning. Där kämpade vi för att få till någon form av brottslighet när det gäller att köpa sex av människohandelsoffer. Det gick inte, utan det stod helt stilla.
År 2016 ska medlemsländerna återkomma till parlamentet och tala om hur man arbetar med att motverka efterfrågan på prostituerade. Då är det jätteviktigt att vi nu tar upp det här betänkandet och lyfter det till medlemsländerna. Det är ingen lagstiftning, utan det är ett betänkande som talar om för medlemsländerna att man måste se över efterfrågesituationen.
(Ende des Catch-the-eye-Verfahrens)
Kristalina Georgieva, Member of the Commission. - Mr President, I would like to start by expressing my thanks to Ms Honeyball for her own-initiative report.
There are gruesome consequences of human trafficking and exploitation, stories of the deception of young girls and women having to sell their bodies, threatened, beaten, sometimes even sold by their own families. I would like to start by very clearly stating that for us in the EU, human trafficking is unacceptable in every sense. It is a gross human rights violation and an extremely serious form of crime.
We often hear that trafficking is an underground or hidden crime, but we actually see it with our own eyes: it happens in front of us. Those who are not so very well seen are the criminals who control it in the background. We also understand very well the interconnection between gender and trafficking. Eurostat statistics show that 96[nbsp ]% of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are women and girls, and behind these statistics is the tragedy of each and every one of them. This connects very closely with the discussion we had on the previous item on the report presented by Ms Parvanova.
We also recognise that women and children do not end up in the prostitution market by their own choice. There is a link between the prostitution market, exploitation and organised crime. These links are indisputable and are becoming more and more evident. In addition, Europol informs us that most of the victims of sexual exploitation are trafficked to countries where prostitution is legal or is regulated.
As I have already stressed in the previous discussion, the EU has adopted both a very ambitious directive on human trafficking and an EU strategy to complement this directive. Both recognise and address the gender dimension and the need to reduce demand on human trafficking for the first time at the level of EU law.
This is where I want to end. Prevention is a key pillar of this directive, and it is recognised that there is a need to reduce demand for sexual exploitation. For a little 10-year-old girl to be exploited in the prostitution market or for producing pornography, there has to be a client and there has to be a user. Thus we have to focus strongly on tackling, reducing and eliminating this demand.
Der Präsident. - Damit ist dieser Punkt abgeschlossen.
Die Abstimmung findet am Dienstag, 25.[nbsp ]Februar, um 12.00[nbsp ]Uhr statt.